An electric cooperative on Colorado’s Western Slope was the first utility in the U.S. to give community-owned solar a chance in 2010. Four years and 2.6 megawatts (MW) later, it was a decision that helped revolutionize the way individuals and businesses go solar nationwide. A member-owned cooperative, Holy Cross Energy (HCE) provides electricity t
A few months back, Seth Godin, a best selling marketing guru, wrote a blog post about defining what it means for brands to be famous, and I thought his insights were extremely relevant to our solar marketing community. Of course, all solar companies, whether installers, manufacturers, or software solutions would love to be household names, but shou
2015 marks my seventh annual list of ten clean energy stocks. An equal weighted portfolio of the ten stocks in each year’s list has outperformed my industry benchmark every year except 2013. 2014 was no exception, but it was a bittersweet victory in …
Read More
Although the U.S. made it through a quiet 2014 Atlantic hurricane season this year, it doesn’t mean we’re out of the waters. Natural disasters are an ongoing threat to our infrastructure, and utilities need to be conscious of the present state and future of our power grid. Fortunately, in recent years many utilities across the country have recognized the importance of being prepared for major storms, and have been actively researching and implementing solutions to prepare for the next big one.
The rise of solar power allows a further democratizing of the electricity system, and these charts illustrate how 2014 was a banner year for solar, but particularly distributed solar power. First, the following chart shows that 2014 opened on the heels of an impressive year of solar growth. In 2013, over 20 percent of new power plant capacity was f
The Community Renewable Energy Deployment (CRED) program at the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) has developed four innovative local renewable energy projects, providing up to 5.6 MW of additional clean energy generation to SMUD’s customers. The projects bring local economic and environmental benefits though the creation of jobs, increa
A 2013 report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) found 3.4 million green jobs in the United States at the end of 2011. This is the latest data available from BLS, due to the elimination of its Green Careers program. On March 1, 2013, the across-the board spending cuts referred to as sequestration, required by the amended Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act, came into effect. As part of those budget cuts, BLS stopped offering all “measuring green jobs” products.
On November 20, 2014, ten bids for the 100 MW PV IPP tender issued by Dubai’s state utility DEWA were opened. The results provoked awe throughout the Gulf region’s power community and will set the standards for future tenders.
As we continue installing thousands of rooftop solar power systems on homes across the United States, we continue to gain a deeper understanding of what motivates people to pull the trigger and go solar. While the decreasing cost of solar is the all-important driver, the incentive to install a solar array at home comes from a wide variety of needs
As we continue installing thousands of rooftop solar power systems on homes across the United States, we continue to gain a deeper understanding of what motivates people to pull the trigger and go solar. While the decreasing cost of solar is the all-important driver, the incentive to install a solar array at home comes from a wide variety of needs
